


Fun and Games

by The_Half_Blood_Guardian



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012), Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Gen, Kid Mutou Yuugi, Lonely Jack Frost, Lonely Mutou Yuugi, Mentions of Mental Illness, Non-Graphic Violence, Precious Mutou Yuugi, Protective Jack Frost, Yami Yuugi's early-series shinanigans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:47:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23617738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Half_Blood_Guardian/pseuds/The_Half_Blood_Guardian
Summary: Three times Jack Frost saw Yuugi Mutou, and one time Yuugi saw Jack.
Relationships: Mutou Yuugi & Jack Frost
Comments: 24
Kudos: 51





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Easter, everyone! As is suggested in the summary, this story is going to have 4 chapters. Here's the first one.
> 
> Blanket disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Rise of the Guardians.

The first time Jack met the quirky, game-loving kid, it was completely by accident. Truth be told, he really didn't visit such warm places very often, but unlike some others, this place had at least a semi-decent change in temperature to go along with the change of seasons. The air was cool this time of year. Not quite freezing, but it was about as good as it was gonna get in Domino, Japan, as the city was apparently called.

Which was why he'd decided to come and switch things up a bit with a little wintry fun.

He'd quickly located one of the public schools in the area. He didn't pay much attention to schools very often, not liking them any more than many of the students that attended them did, so he wasn't sure on a lot of the specifics, like why they separated the age groups so much or if the schools having different age groups were called by different names. And really, he had no need to know those kinds of things when all he had to do was fly around and see which ones had the younger kids and which ones didn't. The one he'd just found did.

A bunch of them were out having fun on a playground outside the building, and he swooped in lower, landing on the fence surrounding the area and settling in to observe for a moment.

Around that time was when he noticed the one kid who was by himself, sitting alone under a tree at the edge of a school playground and absently shuffling a deck of standard playing cards.

The thing that had immediately caught the winter spirit's attention was the boy's hair. Which wasn't surprising, given that it was a mixture of black, gold and maroon, and stuck up so much that it almost seemed to make up a quarter of his total height.

The second thing to catch his attention was the eyes. They were a startling shade of violet, a color Jack had never seen before in the eyes of any human. That, combined with the wacky hairdo, made Jack wonder for a second if the little guy was actually a spirit like himself. After an experimental "hello?" and wave of his hand in front of an unresponsive face, Jack was finally convinced that the kid was just a normal human, crazy hair and unusual eye color aside.

The third thing to catch his attention was actually the eyes, again. But this time, rather than the color, he was struck by the deep longing he saw in them as they watched the other kids running around on the grass and climbing the playground equipment, laughing and having fun with each other. Jack knew that look. He'd seen it enough on windows and ice and other reflective surfaces to know he'd looked like that on many, many occasions.

A bigger and most likely older boy started in their direction, obviously heading for the younger one. Huh. Looks like he had a friend after all. Jack was glad. But when the child beside him saw the other boy approaching, a look of fear entered his amethyst eyes, and he hunched in on himself a bit. At first, Jack was confused by the reaction, but then he saw the mean sneer on the bigger kid's face and understood.

Now, Jack was the kind of guy who knew a little bit about a lot, and among the "a lot" was language.

Snow, ice, and winter in general were great, but no matter how great they were, three hundred years was a long time to do nothing but fly around spreading the stuff. People-watching was a hobby he'd picked up not long after he'd first awoken on the ice of his frozen pond, and was an effective way to pass the time. Half the fun of people-watching was knowing what those people were saying, though, and when you had access to the entire globe and all the people on it, there were bound to be a lot of languages you didn't know.

But Jack was stubborn, and determined, and there was such a variety of people in the world that sticking only to places where people spoke English would be boring when he knew there was so much he was missing.

And so, over three centuries, Jack had amassed quite the army of words in his mental library, though you probably wouldn't be able to tell, considering those words were spread across more than two hundred fifty* languages, and most of the knowledge he'd collected was so he could understand people who spoke a language, not so he could speak it himself.

But even if he hadn't known a single word of Japanese, Jack still would've been able to tell that the bigger kid was insulting the crazy-haired one. The sneer on his face and the condescending tone he used, as well as the obvious hurt the words were causing the other, was evidence enough. And Jack hadn't really been paying attention to what the bigger kid was saying, but he was sure he'd heard the word 'loser' somewhere in there.

"Hey!" The winter spirit said, indignant on the violet-eyed boy's behalf. "That's totally rude. Why don't you pick on someone your own size, huh?"

Neither of them could hear him, of course, and even if they could, he doubted they knew much English, but that didn't mean they couldn't _feel_ him. Or at least, feel his presence.

He stepped between the two and let loose a short burst of sharp, bitter cold, directed at the bigger one, though he saw the wild-haired kid shiver in his peripheral vision. A little patch of ice sprang up beneath his bare feet, drawing the attention of both children. Two pairs of eyes widened, and the bully squeaked out a parting "Freak!" before scampering off.

"That's right! Get lost, you little brat!" Jack called after the retreating kid. He knew it was petty of him to do what he's just done to a child, but this one was a snot-nosed brat and a bully, so he felt he was justified. Besides, it wasn't like he'd hurt him or anything. Just spooked him a little. Honestly, he deserved it for picking on another kid who was just minding his own business.

"Thank you…" The violet-eyed boy whispered. Jack whirled around, but the child wasn't looking at him. Rather, he was staring intently at the small patch of ice left on the ground. The winter spirit tried not to feel too put-down. At least he was sort of being acknowledged.

"I don't know who you are, but you saved me, right?" Without thinking about it, Jack nodded his head. The boy continued after a moment.

"My name is Yuugi, and Jii-chan told me about his adventures in Egypt. He says there's magic and spirits and stuff there. And I thought, if they have those things in Egypt, why not here, too?" He smiled. "I'm glad I was right."

_Smart kid,_ Jack thought.

Then the smart kid was suddenly a very shy-looking kid, and he scuffed his shoe against the ground as he quietly said, "I get lonely a lot, and right now I don't feel alone. Do you ever feel lonely? I mean, I can't see you, and I'm guessing other people can't see you either. So you must feel lonely sometimes, right? And I know you're probably busy, doing magic and spirit stuff, but-" he paused for a beat, taking a deep breath, and finished, "-could you visit again sometime?" He listened for a reply, and Jack knew he couldn't let the moment pass.

The winter spirit created the biggest, most intricate snowflake he could manage on such short notice and asked Wind to blow it towards the boy. Wind did just that, ruffling both pure white and multicolored hair fondly as it did so. There was a spark of wonder in the child's eyes when the beautiful, fist-sized snowflake fluttered over to land on the palm of his outstretched hand. He murmured another quiet thank you, beaming. As Jack took off, he found himself smiling as well.

_You're welcome,_ he thought. His mind wandered to the boy's other words as he flew around town.

Jii-chan, huh? That meant grandfather, didn't it? Well, Jack was pretty sure he'd never met this boy's grandpa (anyone related to the kid _had_ to look at least semi-odd, right?), and he probably never would, considering the increasingly enormous number of people in the world. But if he ever did, he'd be sure to thank him for instilling a belief of magic in his grandson, even if the man couldn't see him or hear his thanks.

And he'd _definitely_ have to stop by and see little Yuugi again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * there are approximately 7,000 languages currently spoken


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! Sorry for the long wait, and for the short chapter, but this story was always supposed to be a side project, and as such, I've been focusing mostly on writing Submersion, and not so much on Fun and Games. That said, the next chapter WILL definitely be longer :)

The second time Jack visited Yuugi, the kid was sitting at a child-sized desk in his bedroom, working on some kind of strange, golden 3D puzzle. It had been a month and a half since the first visit, and Jack had felt a tug that he had followed in the direction of Domino.

The spirit had found out where the boy lived about half an hour before, having seen him enter through the front door of a game shop and call out to his grandfather. Jack had followed him inside the shop, and when he saw an old man with hair in a strikingly similar shape to a certain little boy's, he had been true to his word and thanked the old man who had instilled in his grandson a belief of magic.

However, Jack hadn't immediately gone to see Yuugi then. He had been a bit distracted at the time you see, having started an impromptu snowball fight in a public park a few blocks over. He'd covered the entire park in a few inches of snow, but left every other part of the town untouched. He smirked a little at the thought of the local adults scratching their heads at the strange phenomenon, even as the kids shrugged and took advantage of the fun they could have in the fluffy white material they suddenly had access to.

Yuugi huffed in frustration, setting the pieces down a little roughly on the desk, and Jack was brought out of his thoughts. The frown on the child's face tugged at Jack's heart almost as much as seeing him look longingly out his window earlier at the kids playing in the park, before he had averted his gaze and pulled out the golden puzzle.

"Come on, kid…" the spirit quietly urged him. "Don't give up!"

Hoping to cheer him, Jack tapped the window with his staff, and spiraling fern patterns spread across the glass. The sound of crackling frost caused the boy to look up. Large eyes widened even further, and his jaw dropped at the magical display. Then he smiled, a wide, genuine thing that crinkled the corner of his eyes and put dimples in his cheeks, and Jack found himself smiling, too. He saw the child's lips move to form a happy "thank you."

"Heh, don't mention it."

Violet eyes passed through him without seeing, but Jack's smile stayed firmly in place, and Yuugi soon went back to working on his puzzle, practically glowing with a renewed determination.

This was enough.


	3. Part 3

Nearly eight years later, Jack came by to see Yuugi again. He had visited the boy – now a teenager, even if his short stature and soft facial features didn't reflect his age – on dozens of occasions by now, though his visits had tapered off as Yuugi got older. It had been a few years since he had seemed to realize it when Jack was around, and it pained the spirit to know that he was being forgotten.

Still, Yuugi was one of very, very few humans who had ever routinely reacted to his presence, and that was something that Jack cherished.

Yuugi hadn't been at his home yet, despite the late hour, and Jack had decided to go out and look for him.

He had resolved to come see the boy more frequently after his last visit only a few weeks ago, when he'd overheard a quiet conversation between two of Yuugi's new friends. Apparently, the smaller teenager had been experiencing blackouts and moments where he displayed strange, out of character mannerisms. He'd been trying to hide it, but his friends were evidently beginning to catch onto the odd behavior.

Jack was many things, but after nearly three hundred years of existence, one thing he definitely _wasn't_ was naïve. He'd seen a lot, including plenty of instances of mental illness, and knew that in most cases, signs of it began to manifest themselves in people who hadn't yet reached adulthood. In teenagers, like Yuugi. Sometimes it was curable, but often it persisted for the rest of the person's life.

He also knew that, despite medicine having progressed in leaps and bounds since the early 1700s, there was still so much that wasn't yet understood about the human mind, and therefore only so much that could be done to treat its illnesses.

It was sad, and he hated it, but if Yuugi was suffering from some sort of undiagnosed mental disorder, then realistically, there was nothing Jack could do for him.

The winter spirit shook himself from his thoughts, eyeing the setting sun with apprehension. There really weren't many places in the world where being out after dark was remotely safe, and Yuugi was an obvious target at the best of times. He hopped to the next rooftop over, Wind whistling around him encouragingly and helping him make the leap. A small smile ghosted across his lips, and he quietly thanked his only friend.

An angry shout had him turning his head, and Wind carried him closer to the sound. He briefly touched down on a lamppost, waiting for the voice to speak again. He didn't have to wait long before he heard another deep voice, this one jeering, and then a third one, anxious and small, stuttering a reply. Finally he landed on a rooftop next to a dim alley, because something shady was obviously going on, so of _course_ it was happening in an alley.

It was dark, but he could make out three separate figures, two of them much larger than the third, which was backed against one of the grimy walls. Jack looked closer at the smaller figure and caught sight of a mess of spiked, multicolored hair and the glint of a gold trinket. He almost sighed. It was Yuugi. Because why wouldn't it be?

Much like his real-life experience course on mental illnesses and human frailty, Jack had eventually been forced to realize that sometimes – _most_ times – he couldn't save the people he found in trouble. While a sudden burst of cold wind and snowflakes where the temperature had previously been mild was certainly enough to unsettle attackers, it was rarely enough to scare them off.

Even so, Jack couldn't help but watch and hope he could make a difference if things got too out of hand.

It turned out that the two shady individuals weren't actually after money. Neither of them seemed to care much when all they got from him was a bit of spare change, and simply went on harassing the poor boy. Jack gritted his teeth and wrinkled his nose in disgust. He himself was quite the prankster, but he only pranked people he knew could take it, and there was never any truly malicious intent behind it. People who cruelly tormented others for no reason besides their own amusement were a whole different story.

Jack stiffened when one of the thugs decided that simply shoving Yuugi around was boring and landed the first punch. The second thug apparently thought it was a good idea, as he soon joined in. Yuugi cried out, squeezing his eyes shut and curling in on himself, and Jack was one second away from jumping down there when the feeling of menacing power suddenly encompassed the alley, stealing his breath and causing him to land on his rear. Staring down with wide eyes, he saw a wall of darkness shoot up between the humans and the mouth of the alley, which was suddenly twice as dim as before.

The two thugs had stopped, surprised by the change. Jack looked at Yuugi to see his reaction. The boy had uncurled but remained oddly still. Shadows obscured his expression, and–

His head shot up, eyes snapping open to reveal irises that swirled red and wild and _furious_.

A snarl ripped past bared teeth, the sound making the back of Jack's neck prickle and his hair rise in a way that the cold would never be able to cause.

The sequence of events that followed were as confusing as they were terrifying; _something_ was happening between the boy and his two attackers-turned-victims, but whatever it was, it seemed to be going on only in their heads. Judging by the dark and downright terrifying energy swirling in the air, though, it couldn't have been anything remotely pleasant. After an undetermined amount of time, the energy suddenly spiked before settling down to a barely detectable level, the wall of darkness dissipating.

In place of the energy, the air was suddenly filled with screams and cries and babbling, the thugs wild-eyed and frantic for no apparent reason, staring at things that Jack couldn't see and that most likely weren't even real.

The boy simply stood before them and watched for a few seconds with a wide smirk, then straightened his jacket and turned on his heel. Unbidden, the words spoken between Yuugi's friends came to Jack's mind.

The glimpses they had caught of abrupt changes in his personality, the memory lapses he'd been troubled with; both were indicators of possession. Or a wicked case of Dissociative Identity Disorder, but something told Jack that wasn't the case. Maybe it was the overwhelmingly dark energy, or the way the kid had literally gained a few inches of height, or how he'd somehow caused two other humans to go _insane_ with little to no effort, or that his eyes had changed color, or that a gold, glowing _third eye_ had temporarily materialized on his forehead. Yep, the boy was definitely being possessed by an immaterial spirit.

Immaterial spirits, unlike material ones such as himself, were invariably the remnants of people who had died with unfinished business, and whereas spirits of Jack's variety were only intangible to humans who didn't believe in them, immaterial spirits were fully, truly intangible, unable to physically interact with anything without the use of a host. Because of this, they were often looked down upon as inferior by material spirits. Jack would've felt indignant for their sake, except that he had never met one who wasn't a jerk to some degree.

At least this one didn't seem to want his host harmed, and had cared enough about the boy's well-being to take care of his attackers. The winter spirit may have even thought of him as a decent guy. That is, y'know, if he _hadn't_ just driven two guys insane while all but cackling with perverse delight. That kinda put a halt to any camaraderie or olive branches Jack might have eventually extended before he could even begin to contemplate offering them to the other spirit.

He watched warily from the rooftop as the other spirit stepped out of the alley and walked a short distance down the sidewalk. Then piercing eyes swept the area, and Jack guessed that the only reason he wasn't detected was the fact that he was much better at obscuring his presence than a human. Once the red eyed spirit was satisfied he was alone, he closed his eyes, and for the first time that night, Jack saw his posture relax. Soft, violet eyes blinked open, and after glancing around in confused worry for a moment, the young teenager headed home at a brisk pace.

And if Jack followed from a distance until he was safely inside the game shop, well, that was no one's business but his own.


End file.
